Applier



AP'PLIER J. W. BAYMILLER ETAL Filed May 2, 1965 July 27, 1965 INVENTOR.

JOHN W- BAYMILLER WILLIAM A- MOGGIO United States Patent This invention relates generally to an article for applying liquids to surfaces. More particularly the invention, relates to an applier adapted to supply a controlled amount of liquid to a surface to be treated. Still more particularly, the invention relates to an applier which remains dry during storage and which on gentle pressure produces a controlled amount of liquid.

There is a need for an article which can conveniently store a wide variety of liquids normally used for treating various surfaces, and conveniently deliver the liquid to the surface when needed. Such liquids have been stored in the past in bottles, cans, dispensers, and other containers. Such containers normally hold much larger amounts of the liquid to be used than is needed for a single application. Thus in spot removers for clothing, rug and upholstery cleaner-s, nail polish remover, leather cleaners, adhesives, and many more articles, it is customary to use the liquid repetitively from the same container each time the need for the liquid arises. There is a need for the added convenience of an applier adapted for .a single application which may be thrown away after use if desired, but which may, until use, be stored in dry form without fear 0f spillage, evaporation, or hardening as may be encountered when the liquids are stored in the more usual containers.

It is the primary object of the present invention to supply such an applier. It is another object of the present invention to supply an applier which can deliver a controlled amount of liquid to a surface to be treated. It is still another object of the present invention to present a disposable applier which may be conveniently and economically thrown away after a single use.

These objects are achieved in a surprisingly straightforward and effective manner. The invention contemplates an applier comprising at least two flexible opposing sheets. These sheets are circu-mferentially sealed together over a portion of their opposing faces to define an enclosed pouch between the two sheets, the pouch being encom passed by the sealed area. Positioned inside the pouch are a plurality of pressure-rupturable capsules containing the liquid to be applied to a surface. One of the two sheets defining the pouch is impermeable to the liquid, while the other of the two sheets defining the pouch is porous and adapted to .allow passage of the liquid from the pouch to the surface to be treated when at least a portion of the capsules in the pouch are ruptured.

The basic design of the applier of the present invention contemplates a plurality of capsules containing an encapsulated material sandwiched between two sheets to form a capsule pad such that when the facing side of the pad is placed on a surface, and moderate hand pressure is applied against the back of the pad, the capsules will rupture and release their contents through the porous pad facing.

Encapsulated liquids lie at the heart of the present invention. The applier may properly be referred to as a capsule pad. A wide variety of liquids may be encapsulated and utilized in the applier of the present invention. These liquids may be fully encapsulated by the process set forth in US. Patent No. 2,766,478Raley et al., the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. This patent describes the processes that may be used for encapsulating a wide variety of liquids in a wide variety of ice capsules. The apparatus of US. 3,015,128-Somerville may be used. The resulting capsules are pressure-rupturable and may be produced in a variety of sizes. For the purposes of the present invention, however, it is preferred that capsules no smaller than about 500 microns be used. With smaller capsules, the proportion of contained liquid to Wall material becomes sufficiently small as to be inetficient in the applier. Additionally, capsules which are smaller than the stated minimum may lodge in corners of the pouch in which they are carried or rest between fibers and thus escape rupturing from finger pressure with the attendant loss or nonavailability of the encapsulated liquid. The maximum size of capsules for the present use will be about 3,000 microns. Capsules larger than this maximum deprive the applier of the feature of controlled release of the liquid in that pressure of the fingers will rupture the few large capsules contained in the pouch, thus releasing most of the available liquid all at once. Additionally, capsules larger than the stated maximum produce a bulky capsule pad, one which occupies more room in storage in a box or the like than is warranted. The preferred range of size of these capsules in the applier of the present invention is in the range of about 1500-2500 microns. For many users the preferred size is 2,500 microns.

It will be seen that the number of capsules in the pouch will vary to some extent, depending on the exact size of the individual capsules. In order to achieve the controlled release of the liquid, the pouch will contain at last 50 capsules, and preferably about 200 capsules. No more than about 1,000 capsules should be present in the pouch because the capsule .size will then be sufficiently small to be objectionable as described above.

A wide variety of liquids may be encapsulated. Any liquid may be encapsulated in a shell provided that the liquid does not react with or dissolve the material used for the shell. Aqueous and nonaqueous liquids, solutions, .suspensions, and emulsions, may be used. The exact nature of the encapsulated liquid will be determined by the ultimate end use of the capsule pad. If the applier is to serve as a spot remover for clothing, or a rug and upholstery cleaner, or a clean-up pad for use after painting, or an auto tar remover, or a hand cleaner, then the encapsulated liquid may be carbon tetrachloride or naphtha. If the applier is to be used as a nail polish remover, the liquid will be primarily an ester such as amyl acetate. A shoe polish cloth will utilize, for example, a naphtha solvent, a black dye, and dissolved wax or resin; most of the liquid shoe polishes now on the market may be encapsulated and used in the applier of the present invention. A furniture polish cloth made according to the present invention will have a liquid furniture polish comprising for example a solvent such as naphtha, a wax, and a silicone. A furniture scratch remover will incorporate a liquid stain in the capsules. Black mark remover for removing the black heel marks from resilient and wood floors and the like will contain for example a naphtha-based solution of a wax. An applier for an insect repellent will contain any of the known liquid repellents such as the large molecule liquid alcohols, for example hexane diol, or the dialkyl phthalates such as dimethyl phthalate. Metal cleaners such as silver cleaner and copper cleaner may contain, respectively, a solution of urea and a solution of ammonium sulfamate. An applier for placing a layer of n anti-fog liquid on a windshield of an automobile may contain glycerin or a glycol. Appliers for placing a layer of oil on sporting equipment such as guns, baseball gloves, outboard motors, and the like will contain simply encapsulated oil of the desired viscosity. Special purpose liquids such as odorless mineral spirits and 1,1,2-trichloroethane have been encapsulated as have various mixtures of compounds such as mixtures of ketones with hydrocar- 1 meshes of bons to be used as nail polishiremovers. 'Wet-ting agents and sil-icones in liquid form have also been encapsulated.

The material used to form the shell or wall of the capsule will be selected on'ui basis of nonreactionw-itlr the encapsulated liquid and an ease of capsule formation.

Several such materials are described in the above-mentioned Raley' et a1. patent, provided the conditions there :rectangular, hexagonal, triangular, round, oval, or hongeometric. Pouches ;.and padshaving the shape of letters or other symbols may be used.

described are met. Alginic acid is a useful encapsulating medium, as is a mixture of alginic acid with pol (vinyl alcohol) and a gelatin. A mixture of these'three ingredients in the ratio of 3.5:7.0:1.0.rnakes a good allaround encapulating material for the encapsulation of hydrophobic materials. Aqueous systems may be encap- If desired, the pouch'may contain ailayer of an absorbent material such as'a felt whichwill act as a reservoir for the encapsulated liquid once it has been released from the capsules by rupturing the capsules. Such a layer .of absorbent material-may bepositioned in any convenient place" on thegapplier of the present' invention sulated in a mixture of chlorinated polyethylene andeth-f ylene-vinyl acetate copolymer dissolved ina suitable solvent such as benzene or toluene. V

The capsules are conttained in a pouch formed by.

circumferentially sealing two opposing sheets around the circumference of the'area defined by the pouch; One of the two sheets must bessubstantially impermeable and im-. penetrable by the liquid contained irrthe capsules;

will pass through to the surface to be treatedi'once the capsules are ruptured. Both sheets Will be flexible and deformable so that the pressure of the fingers can rupture The" other of the two sheets must be porous so that the liquid depending on the particular role to be served. For ex ample, the layer of absorbent material maybe positioned outside of'thepouch on the back of theimpermeable layer and used to soak up any excess of the liquidap plied to the surface to' be treated; A series of layers of absorbent material .may'be used in any one applier, each layer to serve the desired purpose.

1 In the drawings, j Y 1 J FIG. 1 is a simplified sketch of a dual pouch,

-FIG. 2 is a simplifiedsdr'awi ng of'apouch containing absorbent material on one side of the capsules,

the capsules through the backing or impermeable sheet;

The porous or facing'sheet'will have sufficient strength to withstand the conditions ofapplication. In some in-' stances these conditions may not be very stringent as when an insectifuge is patted onto the human skin. Inother applications as where a paint remover. is released to remove a spot of paint from a wall, window, orsother ob FIG. 3 shows an: alternate combination pouch,

I FIG. 4shows a pouch in combination with a rub-up portion, and

FIG. 5 is a view of thelappli'e'r of FIG. 4 taken along th e'lines 5-5;

'Like elements in the drawings have the same numbers. Referring particularly to'FIGfl, the. backing sheet 1 is adhered at 2 to the'porous facing sheet 3 to form the ject, the porous sheet will have to possess sufficient strength to withstand the requisite amount of rubbing.

Asexamples of the impermeable or backing sheet,"

there may be mentioned polyethylene, cellophane, polypropylene, poly(vinyliden e' chloride), polycarbonates,

and the various polyester films. Additionally,1there may I be used metallic foils such as aluminum foil. Sheets or films of acrylics and acrylates'may be used. Polyureused in sheet or film form, as may naturalrubber;

coated with a Wide variety of resins or rubbers, or by being prepared by any of the knownsbeater saturation processes which coat at least a portion of the individual fibers with a suitable binder material prior to formation. of the web; These impermeable .sheets are sufficiently impermeable not to stain the'fingers or otherwise allow an annoying amount of the liquid to penetrate once the capsules are ruptured.

The flexible porous or face material may be the same" material used for the impermeable backing material, pro- 7 viding holes,slits,'or other openings have been made in the impermeable sheetin order to allow the transmission of liquid therethrough. The porous sheet may be a tex-f tileor textile-like material, a felt, or any of the non- Woven sheets. Additionally the face material may be an open-celled foam as for example poly(vinyl chloride),

of such open-celled foams may be particularly suit'able for use' where the liquid is to be patted or otherwise ap-s With the arrangement illustrated in pouch 4. The capsules 5 contain the liquid to be released and deposited or spread on a surface to betreated. The

c'apsulestare ruptured simply by pressing with the fingers or other object on the impenetrable backing sheet 1 with sufficient force to rupture the capsules 5. The. liquid'in the capsules 5 will then pass through the porous facing sheet 3 to thesurface tobetreated. .The absorbent material 6 serves to absorb some of the liquid from the capsules. 5 after rupturing. In FIG( 1, the lef -hand pouch shows the capsules 5 surrounded by the absorbent material 6.

In FIG. 2, the capsules are backed by the absorbent material 6. It is apparent that the absorbent material could also be placed' between the capsules and the porous facing sheet 3.. l i v 7 FIG. 3, pressure on the upper facing sheet 7 willrupture the capsules 5 and allow the liquid to flow through thelower porous facing sheet 8. This applier may thenbe turned over and the upper facing sheet 7 brought in contact with the liquid just deposited on the surface to be treated. Under such circumstances the porous material 6 will absorb any of the excess liquid.

" In FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the right-hand'pouch contains the impenetrable film 1, the seal 2, the pouch 4, and'the porous facing sheet 3, all enclosing the capsules 5. .A

plied to human skin. Textiles, felts, andfother nonwoven" ,1 V V 7 Y hered. tocue another to form the enclosed pouch by any fabrics and materials may carry distributed 'through'the fibers which make up the sheet abrasive grits or. particles as an aid in'removi'ng spots or other coatings when the applier of the present inventionis used. Screens-and;

used.

' Both sheets be attractively colored asdesired and. they may bear printing in the nature of directions, decowire or other strands maybe advantageously I i Adhesives of the activatablecontact type may be used to' form the pouch Where the nature of the facing sheet and the backing sheet renders such use convenient.

butfer'for'rns an integral part of the applier illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5. An upper bufiing surface 9 and a lower bufling surfacei ltt separated by an impenetrable layer 11 may be. used to buff or. polish the encapsulated liquid inside the capsules 5. This arrangement is particularly good'for depositing buifable solutions and is an excellent applier for use as a black mark. remover for floors, walls, and the like, where it is desirable to leave'a bufieishiny surfacef l a T .The two flexible opposing sheets maybe sealed or adaccomplished to form the circumferential. seal between the impenetrable backing film and the porous facing sheet;

We claim:

1. An applier for applying a controlled amount of liquid to a surface to be treated with said liquid, said applier comprising at least two flexible opposing sheets circumferentially sealed together over a portion of their opposing faces to define an enclosed pouch therebetween, a plurality of 50l,000 pressure-rupturable capsules having a size range of about 1,5002,500 microns positioned inside said pouch, said capsules containing the liquid to be applied to a surface, one of said two sheets being impermeable to said liquid, the other of said two sheets being porous and adapted to allow passage of said liquid from said pouch to the surface being treated when at least a portion of said capsules are ruptured.

2. An applier according to claim 1 wherein at least one of said two opposing sheets is a thermoplastic film.

3. An applier according to claim 1 wherein said two flexible opposing sheets comprise polyethylene and a cel lulosic felt.

4. An applier according to claim 1 wherein said circumferential seal is a heat seal.

5. An applier according to claim ll wherein said circumferential seal is an adhesive seal.

6. An applier according to claim 1 wherein said flexible opposing sheets are sealed over a plurality of portions of their opposing faces to form a plurality of pouches.

7. An applier according to claim 1 containing an absorbent material positioned inside said pouch.

8. An applier according to claim 1 wherein said capsules are a size of about 2,500 microns.

9. An applier according to claim 1 having, in addition to said two flexible opposing sheets, a sheet afiixed thereto adapted for bufiing a surface.

10. An applier according to claim 1 containing in said pouch a plurality of layers of absorbent material.

11. An applier according to claim 1 wherein said liquid comprises a hydrocarbon.

12. An applier according to claim 1 wherein said liq uid comprises an aqueous system.

13. An applier according to claim 1 wherein said liquid comprises a solvent and a wax adapted to remove black marks from floors and leave a wax coating thereon.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,209,914 7/40 Gerber et a1. 128-272 2,790,982 5/57 Schneider 15-639 X 2,980,941 4/61 Miller l5209 X 3,060,486 10/62 Lewis 15539 CHARLES A. WILLMUTH, Primary Examiner. 

1. AN APPLIER FOR APPLYING A CONTROLLED AMOUNT OF LIQUID TO A SURFACE TO BE TREATED WITH SAID LIQUID, SAID APPLIER COMPRISING AT LEAST TWO FLEXIBLE OPPOSING SHEETS CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SEALED TOGETHER OVER A PORTION OF THEIR OPPOSING FACES TO DEFINE AN ENCLOSED POUCH THEREBETWEEN A PLURALITY OF 50-1,000 PRESSURE-RUPTURABLE CAPSULES HAVING A SIZE RANGE OF ABOUT 1,500-2,500 MICRONS POSITIONED INSIDE SAID POUCH, SAID CAPSULES CONTAINING THE LIQUID TO BE APPLIED TO A SURFACE, ONE OF SAID TWO SHEETS BEING IM- 